Fifty years ago, a shy Swedish student was so entranced by the people of inner city Birmingham he decided to capture their lives on camera.

Photographer Ingemar Lindahl, then 22, had volunteered to build a playground and decorate some run-down flats with an international youth group just a few years before the shared courtyards and back-to-backs would disappear forever.

Now 73, he recalls: “There was a sense people were trying to get by with whatever means they had. People were accepting of each other, which was surprising. Everybody knew their neighbour didn’t have more money than himself.

“What I carried with me back home was how people really tried to make the best of life, whatever the circumstances.

“Those few weeks in Birmingham really made an impression. I still notice I have that as a reference point to what life can be. I saw it’s possible to sort out your life, whatever you have as a background, you can still have respect for yourself.”

Today, the Birmingham Mail nostalgia pages feature some of his unforgettable photographs.